Knicks executive chairman James Dolan shows his disgust during a 29-point home loss to the Thunder on Christmas Day. / Brad Penner, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

We should try to better ourselves every day of the year, of course, not just when midnight is fast approaching on Dec. 31 and the champagne is inspiring the annual reflections and regrets. But for these NBA teams, there's no better time than now - OK, five days from now - to be brutally honest about what's missing in their basketball lives and what needs to be done to find hoops happiness. And since this will be the last NBA A to Z column of 2013, there's no better time than now to offer our humble suggestions to the five teams most badly in need of help.

No. 1, for New York Knicks owner James Dolan: Only swing at the good point guard pitches.

The headlines will keep coming in the league's most manic media market, with daily updates on why - at least, as coach Mike Woodson sees it - Beno Udrih is to blame for the lumps of coal in the Knicks' proverbial stocking. But while point guard is certainly one of New York's many problems, it's a tad shortsighted to fixate on this particular point guard. And for Dolan's part, the Knicks' notoriously meddling owner needs to forget about currently overwhelmed Udrih and recently re-injured Raymond Felton for a moment and remember this: The Boston Celtics' Rajon Rondo, not the Toronto Raptors' Kyle Lowry, is the point guard worth pursuing with all your might (and limited draft picks).

To think Lowry would come in and truly help fix what's broken is absurd, yet that ill-fated stance is what appeared to be driving the Knicks' pursuit of the Toronto point guard during widely-reported trade talks two weeks ago. A person with knowledge of the Raptors' dealings said it was the Knicks who first raised the idea of sending their 2018 first-round pick. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because trade talks aren't discussed publicly. Thankfully for Knicks fans who have already been through enough, it appears new Knicks general manager Steve Mills - who wasn't the one making the initial suggestion regarding the pick - was wise enough to veto the approach and remain patient for more worthwhile pursuits.

Considering the Knicks have two of the league's most guiltless gunners in Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, pass-first Rondo would be a tremendous fit for the struggling group. Rondo's high school coach revealed in a USA TODAY Sports interview recently that he's being recruited by Anthony, his close friend who is set to be a free agent this summer and who is clearly contemplating new co-workers if he decides to stick around.

No matter how many times Celtics general manager Danny Ainge says he's not looking to trade Rondo, the belief from rival executives remains that he can be had at the right price. The trouble, of course, is that the Knicks will be one of many teams in line to make Rondo pitches should Ainge change his tune. Rondo isn't back on the court yet, of course; The Boston Herald recently reported that he's expected to return from his January ACL tear by late January or February.

But there are two months until the trade Feb. 20 deadline and two more seasons (this one and next) on Rondo's contract, meaning this story isn't going away any time soon, so long as Anthony is part of the Knicks' picture. Last but certainly not least: it may not be very nice to compare Lowry to Rondo for statistical context, but there's plenty of time to get off the naughty list by next year.

Lowry has averaged 5.2 assists (though he is at a career-best 7.0 this season) and 10.9 points a game while shooting 41.7% overall for his eight-year career. Rondo has averaged 8.3 assists (at least 11.1 a game in the past three seasons) and 11.1 points a game while shooting 48.1% overall for his seven-season career.

Again, a major part of the Knicks' premise in seaking Lowry is that their defense is a far bigger problem than their offense. They don't lack for scorers, but they do play the sort of isolation-heavy style that Rondo's skill-set wouldn't allow. Enough with the Beno bashings, Knicks. Keep your eye on the bigger, better point guard prize.

No. 2, for the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves: Don't lose hope just yet, and don't make any crazy trades out of sheer panic.

The Western Conference is as strong as ever, but the gleam has come off the Warriors and Timberwolves in recent weeks as they've played more like fringe playoff teams than actual contenders. And lest anyone scoff at the notion that Minnesota was ever included in that company, don't forget the brief-but-impressive 3-0 start that included a 19-point win vs. Oklahoma City. The Warriors entered Thursday in the eighth spot (17-13), while the T'wolves were 10th (13-15).

But a deeper look at the data reveals plenty of reason for optimism for both teams.

‚?Ę Point differential: Coaches and front-office types often rely on point differential to truly determine a team's dominance or lack thereof, and both teams - by this measure - are better than their respective records might otherwise indicate. Golden State's differential (3.4 per game) is tied for sixth-best in the West, while Minnesota's (2.9) is eighth. The Dallas Mavericks are the ones who might want to be concerned, as they're seventh in the West but have a differential (1.4) that's not playoff-worthy.

‚?Ę Strength of schedule: The Timberwolves, according to ESPN.com, have had the third toughest schedule to this point, while the Warriors' has been the fifth-toughest. Moral of this part of the story: It should only get easier from here.

Both teams need to improve, to be sure, but evidence suggests that the incredible seasons being had by the Timberwolves' Kevin Love and the Warriors' Stephen Curry won't be for naught. The focus for Minnesota should be on closing out close games, as they are just 1-7 in games decided by five points or less. The Warriors, meanwhile, are ecstatic to have small forward Andre Iguodala back from his hamstring injury: they're 4-1 since he returned after going 5-7 while he was out.

No. 3, for anyone in the Eastern Conference: Win games and eschew all thoughts of tanking, for the sake of your own self respect.

Is it too much to ask that most of the playoff teams in a conference have winning records? Apparently so.

I don't fault any rebuilding team for pondering the notion of tanking, but this has become a matter of civil NBA service. Someone must step up to fix this monumental failure.

It's just not a flattering look to have Indiana, Miami and Atlanta as the only Eastern Conference teams to have winning records. Fifth-place Charlotte (14-15) looks like the top contender to save the day, as first-year coach Steve Clifford has the Bobcats playing tremendous defense (they entered Thursday ranked third in points allowed per 100 possessions at 98.2) and looking the part as they won four of their last five games. This comes, of course, two seasons after Charlotte had a league-record worst winning percentage (.106 at 7-59) under Paul Silas and one season after the hiring of college coach Mike Dunlap hardly helped matters, going 21-61 last season.

Yet because it seems no team is safe from the serious injury bug this season, there's this disastrous postscript: second-year swingman Jeff Taylor, who had stepped in for small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist after he broke his left hand on Dec. 4, is out after rupturing his right Achilles tendon on Friday. Kidd-Gilchrist was expected to miss between four and six weeks.

If not Charlotte, then some other squad must do this duty. Will it be Toronto, which somehow leads the Atlantic Division at 11-15 but is 5-3 since trading small forward Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings? Or perhaps Boston (12-17), which has lost five of its last seven games under first-year coach Brad Stevens but could surge once Rondo gets back? Someone. Anyone. Please.

SUN ON FIRE: Dragic finally plays up to full ability

Here's the thing about Goran Dragic: His talent is not part of this Phoenix Suns' surprise. Anyone who remembers his 23-point fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2010 was well aware that the 27-year-old has serious skills. Yours truly was there, and it was a sight to behold.

But while the 27-year-old had some very good moments in the last two seasons in Houston and in his return to Phoenix, he never quite made the transition from Steve Nash understudy to All-Star-caliber player. That's why this pairing with Eric Bledsoe is so interesting.

The two-point guard system that coach Jeff Hornacek talked about in this piece that ran earlier in the week takes some playmaking pressure off both players and opens the door for their scoring ability. And as Dragic detailed in our recent chat, their cohesion following Phoenix's trade to land Bledsoe from the Los Angeles Clippers in early July is even more remarkable considering the context.

Because Dragic had pushed so hard during the Eurobasket tournament last summer in which he starred for host Slovenia, he was told by Hornacek in training camp that he wouldn't take part in most practices as a way to fight the building fatigue. New coach, new backcourt mate, and very little shared court time to work on the early chemistry. Matters were made even worse for the Suns' new core when the regular season rolled around, as Dragic sprained his left ankle early on and missed three games.

"I was talking with Jeff, and he told me, 'Look, I know that you're in great shape, and I know that you're tired, so we're just going to sit you down a little bit (in camp); you're going to just do some walk-throughs with us so you can see the new plays, but most of the practices with us, you're going to be on the sidelines and just trying to get your body right until the beginning of the season,' " Dragic told USA TODAY Sports. "Jeff is a great coach and a great coach for the young players. He teaches a lot. And I think from the first day on, we had great communication between me and him."

Hornacek is but one of the many pivotal pieces to the league's most unexpected turnaround, but he's as important as any. And for Dragic, he's the man who helped make the game enjoyable again. After a 25-57 season that led to the firing of general manager Lance Blanks, the hirings of new general manager Ryan McDonough and Hornacek and all the talk of expected tanking, Dragic nor any of the Suns would trade that for this.

"Last year was a really tough year for us, even for me," Dragic said. "We didn't win a lot of games, and most of the guys were not - how you say - happy. You didn't see smiles on our faces. But this year, I think (Hornacek) changed that. Everybody is on the same page, and everybody wants to come to practice.

"We have a great chemistry. It's so much fun because all the media and all the people before the season they thought we'd win 14 or 15 games, and so far we already win 14. It just gives you great pleasure to be here and every night play hard."

THE INTERVIEW: Pelicans coach Monty Williams

No matter how much justifiable intrigue there was surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans this season, this was always a possibility. All these new pieces, uber-talented though they may be, weren't guaranteed to go together well. And so, with early injuries to Anthony Davis, Tyreke Evans and Ryan Anderson compounding matters, they started off just 3-6, recovered to sneak above .500 two weeks ago (11-10) and have now dropped four of their past five games to fall to 12-14.

All things considered, though, fourth-year Pelicans coach Monty Williams and his group are holding up just fine. That was the report from Williams himself when we caught up after New Orleans' win in Sacramento on Monday. Always-enjoyable conversation with Williams below‚?¶

On the overall outlook‚?¶

"When you have a new team, man, you've got to figure out a way to coach that team and learn what they can do. I'm still learning how to coach Tyreke (the former Sacramento Kings guard who was signed on a four-year, $44 million deal in July). But yeah, I think - are we ready? No, we're not ready. Not until we learn how to defend consistently (25th in points allowed per possession) and get the respect from the league on that end of the floor. But are we going to be exciting and compete every night and have a chance to win games? Yeah, we are there. We've just got to learn how to defend.

"It's tough. We've got a lot of young guys who don't have the size, who don't have the experience. I'm still the vet on the team, so until we start to get that kind of leadership - if we take three steps forward and a step back, I'm OK with that."

On whether he's fixated on the idea of making the playoffs yet or focusing more on the day to day‚?¶

"You know, (the playoffs are) always in a coach's mind. Every once in a while you look at the standings. ... I'm always focused on the development of our guys. When you start talking about the playoffs with a young team, I think they get tight. We've got three or four guys who have been in the playoffs. Everybody else is like, 'What?' They don't even know what that's like. Tyreke has won 28 games - that's the most he has ever won (in a season). Eric (Gordon) has only won 32. Those guys have never been in a playoff practice. They don't know what it's like."

STOCKING STUFFERS: The best of the holiday season

There was plenty of holiday spirit to be found in the NBA world. A quick peek at a few of my favorites.

‚?Ę Chandler Parsons' decision to shave his head in support of a 10-year-old fan who is fighting cancer was all class. It has worked wonders for the Houston forward, too, as Parsons buried four three-pointers in the first seven minutes against San Antonio on Christmas Day to spark the Rockets' 27-9 start. He finished with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists in the 111-98 win, then had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in Thursday's win over Memphis.

‚?Ę DeMarcus Cousins has been accused of being a Grinch on a year-round basis, but the Sacramento Kings center shows a softer side - and a hilarious Santa get-up - in a video of his holiday charity efforts. Full disclosure: I have a soft spot for Cousins in this environment. My first encounter with him came at a similar scene in December of 2010 for a piece I wrote while at AOL FanHouse, and it was a unique chance to see the genuine, caring side of the mercurial big man that isn't nearly as easy to find when he hits the floor.

‚?Ę Chris Paul has talked often about how the only downside of his particular profession is all the time spent away from family. It's not just the games and practices, of course, but the travel and the marketing obligations and endless events that come with it all. So, naturally, the Clippers point guard found a way to bring his two worlds into one: he worked with his son, Chris Jr., in the latest State Farm commercial that aired for the first time on Christmas Day. These spots were clever before, but this one adds a bit of charm that's worth watching.

Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt trade off writing weekly NBA A to Z columns. Contact them on Twitter at @sam_amick and @JeffZillgitt.